Wireless LAN startup Vivato Inc. announced this week that it plans to start shipping a dual-function access point in November. The device works either as an autonomous standalone device or – when used in combination with Vivato's existing switch – to plug 802.11 coverage gaps.

Vivato first showed off its 802.11b (11 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz) "Bridge/Router" box last April (see Vivato Bridges, Routes 802.11). The firm says that it is now engaged in "extensive" beta testing of the product – in both indoor and outdoor settings – before shipping (see Vivato Details Bridge/Router).The Bridge/Router contains two 802.11b radios rated at 200 mW. The company claims that the box will have twice the range of standard 802.11b products when used as a standalone AP, which would give it a maximum range of around 200 meters.

The Bridge/Router can also be used to plug possible radio coverage holes when using the original Vivato switch in enterprise implementations, covering the "RF gaps that result from physical barriers [concrete walls, thick glass, etc.] within the environment" (see Vivato Plans Ambitious WLAN). In these situations, one radio in the box works as an access point, while the other sends data wirelessly back to the switch. Vivato has already developed a similar concept for its outdoor switches (see Hotspots of the Future).

Vivato is now working on its second-generation switch product, which will be built around a new 802.11g (54 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz) chipset. The introduction of the Bridge/Router product follows a management shakeup and a round of layoffs at the startup (see Vivato: Shaken & Stirred Up and Vivato CEO Steps Down).

— Dan Jones, Senior Editor, Unstrung